The Phra Nang Cave Island, Krabi

The Phra Nang Cave Island, Krabi

The Phra Nang Cave Island is the fourth island or the last island of the 4 islands tour in Krabi, Thailand. Krabi is located at the southern west part of Thailand and Phuket Island is within its province. The 4 island tour was inclusive of Tup Island, Chicken Island, Poda Island and Phra Nang Cave. Most of the local tour companies offer this tour. You can join any tour by street of Aonang, rates differs.

After having lunch in Poda Island, we proceed to the last island, the Phra Nang Cave Island. The first impression of the Phra Nang (Princess) Cave Island was packed. So what is or who is Phra Nang? There are different stories on the legend of Phra Nang. One legend mentioned that an Indian princess was killed in a shipwreck and her spirit occupied the cave while the other story was the wife of a local fisherman who lived out her life in the cave waiting her husband to come back.

Phra Nang cave has also become associated with fertility. Believe it or not, the lingams placed here are the actually carved wooden penises. Many fishermen will pray here for safe journeys with flowers or incense.

The island has a landscape of a huge rock hill and small resorts. The island is also very popular for its rock climbing activities. It is one of the top destinations for rock climbing in Thailand. Many rock climbers from all parts of the world went there to test out their skills. There was a few young climbers practicing at the lower part of the hill while the rest were seen climbing the hill from various locations. As we walked to the other side of the island, many climbers were seen getting ready on their gears. At least dozens can be visibly seen climbing the rocky hill.

As we walked back towards our long tail boat, we saw a stretch of long tail boat food stalls that we seen earlier at Poda Island. The beach side was parked by a long stretch of the long tail boats, it was really quite an effort to trace our boat if our guide wasn’t there. We left Phra Nang and reached Krabi in the late afternoon.

As we leave Phra Nang, I captured the beautiful island with my camera on the long tail boat. Then, I noticed something on the cliff.

There are people climbing on the huge cliff! Wow! Seriously, that’s a huge cliff. This island is really lives up to the reputation as a popular destination for rock climbing. What a sight to end the island hopping tour!

The island hopping tour took more time than we anticipates, it will be shorter if we had the speed boat tour.

How to get to Phra Nang Cave Island:
Go to the local tour companies (mostly speaks English) and ask for the 4 islands tour. The tour was inclusive of Tup Island, Chicken Island, Poda Island and Phra Nang Cave. The cheapest rate was around 1,200 baht (around US 40) per person. Travel by speed boat will be more expensive. The rates are based on Dec 2009.

Wilson Ng